One of the wonderful aspects of the vintage cycling hobby is that there are so many ways to enjoy it. As far as I'm concerned, there is no one ":right" way. Avid cyclists have always tended to upgrade bikes. Many bikes are historically correct (as distinct from "factory original") when built in many different configurations.All of my bikes are riders. I admire museum pieces, but I'm not particularly interested in owning them. With that in mind, how I build any particular bike depends on many factors. How "original" is it when it comes to me? How rare is it? Etc. A truly rare and substantially original bikes, such as my Art Stump, I choose to rebuild to as original condition as I can, making only those minimal changes necessary to make it ridable (for example, new tires).On other less rare or less original bikes, I may choose to make adjustments to enhance my riding comfort. For example, since I live in Vermont and flat roads are unknown, I like having more gear choices, so I may build a bikes that originally had a 5 speed freewheel, with a 7 speed. For me that doesn't fundamentally change the historic character (although I know there are those who would disagree) while adding measurably to my comfort and thus the likeliness that I'll select that bike to ride. I also really like modern ergo bars with the flat areas in the drops, so sometimes I use those on vintage bikes -- once again adding materially to my comfort -- but I use ones that are aluminum with engraved logos that at least have the general visual character of vintage bars. Like others, I also often use modern pedals on vintage bikes, keeping the originals for display and shows.So in general -- the more rare and original it is the more likely I am to keep it that way; the less so, then I feel more free to change it. But I feel that by and large I do so with moderation. As far as I'm concerned this kind of flexibility is all part of the fun of our hobby. After all -- this is not quite the same as collecting stamps -- bikes are made to be ridden. So if modest "upgrades" make that more likely -- I'm all for it!Best,DavidDavid G. WhiteBurlington, VTUSAr7glm@aol.com wrote:> I probably should have included this in my original post, as to me\ufffd> \ufffdall of this comes down to is what each person is comfortable with, as the> re are certainly no fast rules as to what is "classic". Just as w> ith the classic car note, there are degrees of what is "classic" (I'll > bet there are a few '64 Alfa Romeo Spiders otherwise original but with > radial tires) . I would say a "true classic" is something that is all origin> al, no new paint, parts, or tires, and probably not ridable in many cases. T> hen there are "100 point restorations" such as what Richard Sachs did a few > years ago with his Masi - trying to bring the bike as close as possible to> original for a specific time period. And of course there is everything> in between: original frame but NOS or other parts; new paint but original p> arts, and on and on...everyone has a different take, especially if you actua> lly want to ride the bike, or it's display only. And how do> we bring in the bikes of the NAHBS (or some of those at the Cirque for> that matter), which certainly has a huge following here, if we a> re talking "classic"? Many old school takes but with a modern twist. B> ottom line is that we all appreciate the "classic" bike and riding them, and> that's what matters. There's room for all. >> Rex Gilmore> Vienna, VA>> -----Original Message-----> From: tobit linke <tobitlinke@hotmail.com>> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 9:58 am > Subject: [CR] acceptable updates to classic > bikes? was:shoes and cleats>>>>> f you make an exception for clipless pedals on classic bikes,> hat else is acceptable?> there've been numerous other advances in bicycle technology.> Some of my favourites are:> linchers> lastic toeclips (Christophe road style) and bottle cages> P bottles> ed lights> ub generators> ngle-adjustable brake pads> a friend is a big fan of index shifting.> i'd still say that using any of them would reduce the level of classicness> f a bike.> hile this makes my bikes rate relatively low on the classicness scale,> still come here for the discussion of classic bikes and parts,> ot for tuning tips on how to get my old bike to perform like a contemporar> one.> if classic bikes meant doing whatever you want to an old frame,> e'd be discussing fixed gear conversions.> Tobit Linke, Dortmund, Germany>>> ________________________________________________________________> ore than messages\u2013check out the rest of the Windows Live\u2122.> ttp://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/>> -- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---> ultipart/alternative> text/plain (text body -- kept)> text/html> --> ______________________________________________> lassicrendezvous mailing list> lassicrendezvous@bikelist.org> ttp://www.bikelist.org/mailman/listinfo/classicrendezvous